Since 2020, there has been an emphasis at Harold Washington College on Equity. This is reflected in both the current 5-year strategic plan for the College as well as a recently created Equity Plan. The two document reinforce the points made in each other, please read on to learn more. Additionally, several academic units specifically include equity in how they frame their programs, including the Center of Business Excellence.
The current strategic plan, Our Path Forward, was created and published to guide the College through the years 2021-2025. Placing student success as the center-point, it seeks to improve the College operations and ensure equity in the classroom. The plan's goal is that the College "become a "student-ready" and equitable institutions that is designed for all students to thrive--especially those form historically and present-day marginalized communities. We will equip students with the support and resources they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond" (Our Path Forward 10). Among the Strategic Objectives laid out in the plan, is a goal to "Reduce academic equity gaps" through the following initiatives:
"1. Increase successful program completion for Latinx and African American students.
2. Strengthen developmental education programming for both in-person and online students." (Strategic Plan, 15)
"Ensure that curricula, teaching, and learning practices address implicit biases and represent equitable standards:
1. Implement an equity rubric for all in-person and online courses and programs.
2. Provide on-going, comprehensive training and educational resources to help college faculty and staff work effectively in a diverse college community" (Our Path Forward 16).
Additionally, the plan recognizes the need to look beyond the classroom to "foster a strong culture of equity" through the following strategies:
1. Implement equity plan strategies.
2. Ensure that existing student support services embody equitable practices.
3. Create committees to celebrate and support the status of Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff.
4. Provide equity-based co-curricular programming and opportunities for students, such as college-wide workshops, seminars and forums.
5. Establish a framework that promotes and incorporates Universal Design for Learning standards in co-curricular and classroom activities" (Our Path Forward 17).
Harold Washington College. Our Path Forward: Strategic Plan 2021-2025, CCC, 2021, https://www.flipsnack.com/CityCollegesofChicago/harold-washington-college-strategic-framework/full-view.html. Accessed 11 April 2023.
"In August 2020, each of the City Colleges released a five-year Equity Plan, created in collaboration with the Partnership for College Completion's Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative (https://partnershipfcc.org/ilea). These plans formed the second pillar in CCC's three-fold planning process for 2021-2025, along with their Strategic Enrollment Management Plans and Strategic Plans. The Equity Plans address the unique assets and challenges of each college and form a collective vision for equity and excellence at City Colleges. For more information, visit www.ccc.edu/equity plans" (Our Path Forward 41).
The Harold Washington College Equity Plan is an important step in working towards equity on our campus. The extensive document lays out strategies for improving equity supported by extensive student data. It is intended as a roadmap to help close student achievement gaps for African American, Latino, and low-income students. It is strongly encouraged to read the entirety of the Plan here. The impetus of the plan is contained in the Plan's Equity Statement:
"Harold Washington College firmly believes that, to achieve equity on our campus, we must look beyond "equality" and recognize that the systems of oppression we perpetuate continuously affect students who have been historically disadvantaged. We will intentionally create opportunities for students who have been historically disadvantaged to achieve success on our campus as well as in all aspects of their lives. By doing so, all students will benefit. We believe students deserve an environment free from all forms of visible and invisible harm. We are committed to creating a nurturing campus culture that meets the campus community's academic, social, and emotional needs, regardless of their starting points. To accomplish this, we:
The Plan was created in conjunction with the Illinois Equity in Attainment initiative supported by the Partnership for College Completion. Currently 27 two- and four-year institutions across the state have ILEA Equity Plans, including all City Colleges. All participating schools, including HWC, support the ideas that all students can achieve graduation success with intentional creation of institutional support and removal of existing institutional barriers for students. Specifically, HWC seeks to create "a campus culture and environment in which every student receives the supports they need to complete their degree equitable and in a timely manner when compared to their peer in other racial or socioeconomic groups. PCC is interested in supporting ILEA cohort members as they refine how they support African-American, Latino/a, and low-income students on their campuses. This can include redesigning existing supports, creating new supports and eliminating seen and unseen barriers for student success" (36). To learn more about the creation of the Plan, please review this short overview: Equity Planning Process.
Harold Washington College and Partnership for College Completion. Illinois Equity in Attainment- Harold Washington College Equity Plan, HWC, August 2020, https://www.flipsnack.com/CityCollegesofChicago/ileaequityplan_template-hwc-6-1-2020-draft/full-view.html. Accessed 13 April 2023.
At HWC, the creation of the Equity Plan is supported by the Chancellor's office. For full-text of Chancellor Salgado's statement, click here. Please find relevant excerpts below:
"In a community college system where 75% of our students are Black or Latinx, diversity is one of City Colleges’ greatest strengths. Like many colleges and universities and education systems across the country, for too long City Colleges has fallen short in ensuring that all of our students are achieving their goals. We find gaps in student outcomes by race, by full and part-time status, and by Pell or no Pell receipt, varying by college."
"Each college has participated in a journey of self-reflection that involves examining its data, practices and mindsets. This journey has required our colleges to galvanize their campus communities and bring diverse perspectives and voices to the table to explore the root causes of their equity gaps and to outline a student-centered roadmap to achieving equity in outcomes."
"From the RealCollege survey conducted by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice in 2018-19, we found that many of our students were coping with issues accessing affordable food and housing, with 44% of respondents identifying as food-insecure in the prior 30 days, 54% as housing-insecure in the previous year, and 15% as homeless in the previous year. We also know that many students lack the financial resources to pay for basic educational expenses, such as classroom materials. Furthermore, we know that our students’ challenges have been exacerbated by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and persistent, long-standing racial inequities which our nation is only beginning to confront."
"Our students’ circumstances will never be excuses to expect less – they are opportunities to better support our passionate and persistent students in completing their programs and realizing their dreams. Because we have already seen that when we properly support our students, they thrive."
"What unites the plans is that each college is engaged in a process of critical self-examination and analysis, focused on improving student outcomes. The colleges will measure their success in student outcomes by race and Pell status, including measures such as: taking and passing college English and math within the first year of study, fall-to-spring retention, credit accumulated through the first fall term and the first year, and degree or certificate completion within four years."
"By working to close our equity gaps and creating an exceptional student experience, we will build a more effective and equitable City Colleges and a stronger city."
Salgado, Juan. "City Colleges of Chicago Equity Plans: A Message from Chancellor Salgado," CCC, https://pages.ccc.edu/apply/equity-plans/. Accessed 13 April 2023.
Various departments around campus choose to place equity at the heart of their missions. Included in this is:
The Center for Excellence in Business, which houses the business-related degree programs: "Our Center focuses on business, entrepreneurship, and professional services and it is guided by our principles of quality, innovation, partnerships, access and equity. "
The Social and Applied Science Department includes in its description that a general objective for all enrolled students is to "Value Diversity: Distinguish broad aspects of human and systemic diversity to value change and continuity within individuals, cultures and societies so that this can contribute to a just and equitable life."
The Healthy Market is run by the Wellness Center to address "food insecurity and hunger on our campus and in our community."
Berry, Marion. "Center of Excellence in Business," HWC, https://www.ccc.edu/colleges/washington/departments/Pages/Center-of-Excellence-in-Business-(COEB).aspx. Accessed 13 April 2023.
Ferri, Dominico and Janvier Jones. "Social and Applied Sciences," HWC, https://www.ccc.edu/colleges/washington/departments/Pages/Social-Science-Department.aspx. Accessed 13 April 2023.
Kher, Sushma. "The Healthy Market," HWC, https://www.ccc.edu/colleges/washington/departments/Pages/The-Healthy-Market.aspx. Accessed 13 April 2023.
City Colleges of Chicago hired its first Associate Vice Chancellor for Racial Equity, Bruce King in February of 2021 (CCC News). He left the position in Fall/Winter 2021. At the time of writing, Spring 2023, it appears he has not been replaced.
CCC News. "Six Question with Our First and New Diversity Officer," CCC, 13 April 2021, https://news.ccc.edu/2021/04/13/six-questions-with-our-new-diversity-officer/. Accessed 11 April 2023.